This application relates to storage of waste water from a fuel cell operating in a confined space.
Fuel cells have been proposed to power vehicles which must operate as a closed system for a period of time. As an example, underwater vehicles are proposed which are powered by fuel cell systems. In general, there must be no waste emissions from the vehicle and, thus, all required fluids and all waste must be stored on the vehicle.
In an oxygen/hydrogen fuel cell system, water is a waste product. The water is typically stored in a tank in the vehicle.
In the prior art, the tank may have contained air and when water was delivered into the tank, the air became compressed. Not all the volume of the tank could store water, increasing the volume of the system for a given level of capability. This is undesirable.